What Others Cannot See

Closing her eyes, she hoped not of the many wonders she could possibly imagine. That was for another time. All she really hoped for was her mother standing in front of her, arms open wide. She would open her arms too, and with a rising chorus they would hug for eternity. Mother makes the troubles go away. Filled with warmth, he eyes fluttered open to find… something slightly disturbing. Nothing. A blank page. Even the trail behind her had vanished. A lesson for why should not lift up your hopes; the truth comes back to haunt you. Truth is the work of the devil, and as Ashton realized that she fell to what must've been the ground (didn't really look like much). She sat there for a while, then she looked into the everlasting space and felt a sort of determination about her. To look for her mother. Even if it took forever. She stood up and her pure gut told her to walk right. So walk right she did.

For what might have been hours, or days, or even weeks she walked in the vast sea of white. Never she got the feeling of abandonment, although she was lonely. Then she bumped into what she would like to say was an invisible tree. She felt all around it, and it was definitely shaped like a tree. As she was feeling it, it disappeared and she fell on her face. Ashton decided to leave the tree alone.

She never seemed to get tired or hungry, and she never had to go to the bathroom. Maybe that was one of the hauntings of this forest. Ahead, she saw a light. Small, but a light. She sprinted until she got closer to what she hoped was her mother. The light turned into several lights, which turned into fireflies. She stared at them for a while, out of pure shock (And to make sure they didn't go away) then she giggled and danced around the fireflies. They waltzed with her and they smiled back. Then she heard someone's voice. It sounded like a boy, maybe her age. The voice sang to her, and it said:

"Voices, voices, swirling all around. If you hear the music, listen to the sound. "Hark!", say the angles, "Don't you drop your head!"…But if you've seen what I see you'd wish you were dead.

Must you come to this forest all alone? If the monsters smell you, you never will go home. This forests' full of evil, this forests' full of lies. And perhaps these little angels are really just spies.

Walk to the north, and walk to the east. You'll find that there are no more exits you can reach. Look into my eyes, they're right in front of you. And maybe you can see the things I can see too.

I can see the owl that has seven eyes. I can see the angels that hold so many lies. I can see the sun, and I can see the moon, and I can see your death, which is coming very soon."

Ashton didn't see him appear, but a little boy was standing in front of her. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He looked rather strange. He was a little taller than her, but he looked younger, maybe because of his big eyes. He was wearing a black and white striped long sleeve shirt, and doctor scrub pants. His hair was white and wispy, like snow. It clung to face, and Ashton was surprised he was able to see through his bangs. His skin was almost as pale as his hair, like from the story "Snow White". But his eyes… His eyes were the most extraordinary thing of all. Black. They might as well have been made of obsidian, they shined through his bangs, and they stared into your soul.

Ashton looked at him for the longest time, then she finally choked out the words, "Can you bring the forest back?" She looked at his eyes and they looked back at her. The boy smiled.

"Of course. You deserve it."

The boy kissed her forehead, with surprisingly warm lips. A gentle wave swam through her brain. A window opened, and the sun rose. And when she awoke, she saw the most amazing thing that a human mind could comprehend.